Legal Whiplash: Trump Scores Win in California Voter Roll Fight Over 20,000 Noncitizens

In an Election Day win for President Donald Trump’s administration, a judicial game of ping-pong in California has moved in his favor.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for the Justice Department to continue its probe of California voter rolls including a warning to election workers against counting illegal votes.

The appeals court reinstated its earlier ruling that allowed the Justice Department to continue its efforts to try to have the state set aside mail-in ballots from suspected noncitizens.

The Justice Department last month announced finding more than 20,000 “likely” noncitizens on California’s voter rolls. It did not ask the state to scrap the ballots. Rather, it asked that the ballots be set aside until the citizenship could be confirmed before counting.

This marks the 9th Circuit’s third decision on the matter in a day.

It also comes a day after the Supreme Court rejected the Justice Department’s push to intervene in the case and force California to hold off the counting. But the 9th Circuit ruling just allows the Justice Department to issue warnings to California election officials against facilitating an illegal vote.

After a federal district court blocked the Trump administration from warning election officials about legal consequences of counting illegal votes, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit stayed the district court’s restrictions on the administration.

The appeals court’s 2-1 order came on the eve of Election Day.

The ruling says, “The Government has established a likelihood of success on the merits.”

The court’s new decision allows the Justice Department to continue asking state and county election officials to set aside ballots it suspects came from noncitizens.

The DOJ has warned election officials that knowingly counting unlawful ballots could result in federal prosecution.

“The letters also stated that “[a]n alien voting in a federal election is a federal crime—and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” the DOJ’s letter to election officials says.

It references federal law that says, “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber contends the state has strong safeguards against noncitizen voting.

The court order suspends a requirement for the Justice Department to disclose pending warrants and grand jury subpoenas involving allegedly ineligible voters.

It also suspends a requirement that the administration notify election officials of the district judge’s order.

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